Foreign Ministry calls out US, Japan for interference

China voiced its firm opposition on Friday to a joint statement issued by the United States and Japan, and urged the two countries to abandon their Cold War mentality and stop disrupting peace in the Asia-Pacific region.

In the statement issued after their foreign and defense ministers met in Washington on Wednesday, the US and Japan claimed that China's behavior "represents the greatest strategic challenge in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond", among other attacks against Beijing.

The "2+2" talks between the US and Japan came two days before Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House, which is scheduled for Friday local time.

The joint statement "smacks of a Cold War mentality and a zerosum mindset, and is full of groundless smears against China", Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a daily news conference on Friday, adding that what the US and Japan have done "constitutes an immediate challenge to regional peace, security and stability".

The two allies, claiming to promote regional peace and security, are finding pretexts for their military buildup, Wang said.

Though claiming to champion a free and open "Indo-Pacific region", the US and Japan are creating division and antagonism by creating exclusive blocs in the region, he said, adding that the countries are "trampling on international laws" and "brutally interfering in other countries' internal affairs".

The Asia-Pacific region is a land of peace and development, instead of geopolitical games, Wang said.

"Countries in the region stand for justice, and are against hegemony. They aspire for cooperation, and oppose confrontation. They pursue true multilateralism, and reject creating small circles that incite bloc confrontation," he said.

The US and Japan should abandon their ideological biases and stop targeting imaginary enemies, Wang said, adding that they should stop introducing a "new Cold War" mentality into the Asia-Pacific region and put an end to their unpopular moves that disrupt regional stability.